Page 3 of The Devil

I don’t know Paul very well due to only having met him at their wedding. He seemed nice enough - polite, friendly, smart, and attractive for an older guy. You could see how smitten Jen was, though this only made my father feel all the more anxious for his little sister. She has a pattern of falling hard for men, giving them all she has, only to have them throw it back in her face in a spectacular fashion.

It turns out they had met each other on a skiing holiday after she and Merial had won a little sum on scratch cards. Jen’s motto has always been ‘spend it, don’t save it’, which she has successfully passed onto her daughter. Dad has had to bail her out on more than one occasion, but he’s never complained, not even once. Mom chooses not to interfere but secretly resents the fact that Jen has never been forced to learn from her mistakes; she merely runs to her big brother when she needs saving from them.

Just as the chirpy doorbell comes to an end, the door is thrust open by the spawn of the devil himself - Lucius Hastings. The boy is either going to be a serial killer or a villainous mastermind one day. From what little I’ve seen of him, and what Meriel has told me, he is the ultimate predator - cold, calculating, intimidating as hell, and all wrapped up in a couldn’t-give-shit attitude. At Paul and Jen’s wedding, he was broody and aloof; he never uttered a word until we walked in on him and my brother’s date exploring one another’s tonsils in one of the reception rooms. Suffice it to say, the scene wasn’t taken at all well by my brother, Cam, who decided to lunge at the one guy who has a bigger ego than my siblings combined. I remember his smug, self-satisfied grin when my father had had to pull him and Cameron apart. He taunted Cam with a raise of his brow and a wipe of his mouth with his thumb pad, all thrown in with a sardonic smile. Believe me when I say, it was an incredibly uncomfortable ride back home that evening.

Now, lucky me gets to come face-to-face with Lucius Hastings once again, only this time, there’re no parental figures to hide behind, just me, myself, and I. I guess his satanic attitude rubs off on me because as soon as he opens the door, snarling at the overly happy ending to the Disney theme tune, I feel the need to press it again. ‘For you, brother,’ I think inside of my head. His towering figure fills up the door frame with a sneer and a mutter of “Shut the fuck up,” for the inanimate object that is still telling us all to ‘wish upon a star’. His murderous expression almost makes me regret my little rebellion, particularly when he looks me over from top to bottom with what I can only describe as disgust in his darkened eyes.

I don’t usually like to cast aspersions on people I barely know, but Lucius Hastings has to be the rudest, moodiest, and most arrogant man I’ve ever met. He is a whole new level of bad guy, which, of course, makes him practically God-like to the opposite sex. The fallen angel himself come to reap his own source of amusement. Girls and women drop their panties for him, even though he promises them nothing more than his own gratification and an immediate case of memory loss after he’s had you and tossed you aside. Fortunately, Dad has schooled me over the years to avoid boys like Lucius, warning me of what would happen once I had given into his charms.

“You know, Helena, it’s not the same for you as it is for your brothers. Unfair as it may seem, girls are judged more harshly than boys. And I know you, Helena, you would fall apart if you fell for someone who didn’t love you back. You are beautiful, intelligent, and so important to me. I don’t want you to follow in my little sister’s footsteps, I always want to feel proud of you. Save yourself for a good man, a man with a bright future and nothing but love for you. Will you do that for me, honey?”

“Ok, Daddy.”

The day after this conversation with my father, I was given Cameron’s input:

“Look, Helena, you can date whoever the hell you like. Personally, I think Dad is way too old-fashioned when it comes to you; it actually pisses me off most of the time. However, when it comes to Lucius Hastings, I have to agree with him. Some of the guys at college used to go to his school, and let’s just say, he didn’t have the nicest reputation. Normally, I would say let the guy prove himself before listening to gossip, but after Jen’s wedding, I think we both know he’s as shitty as they come. I wouldn’t trust the motherfucker as far as I could throw him. So, though it pains me to do the overbearing big brother bit, I need you to promise you’ll stay away from him.”

His maniacal pacing up and down had made me smile, but after his speech, I simply scoffed before reassuring him with the fact that I didn’t think Lucius would be a problem. Fortunately, guys like that don’t come near girls like me. In fact, there’re very few guys who do come near me, and if I’m honest, that suits me just fine.

“Fuck,” Lucius mutters, shaking his head with a look of pure derision, one that makes him appear both bored and humored all at the same time. Looking up at the sky, he lets out a heavy sigh, and I half wonder if he’s going to slam the door in my face. However, then he looks right at me, scanning me from head to toe with a confused frown.

“If I have had any kind of sexual encounter with you in the last three months, I wouldn’t remember. Jase has been giving out bad batches of weed, so I was most likely out of it. Plus…” he trails off with a smirk and a study of my outfit, “…I don’t ever return for seconds, so take the wholly innocent, country Laura-fucking-Ingles look and crawl back to wherever the hell you came from. It’s a waste of time.”

The door begins to close as he swings it effortlessly with one of his large hands. I have to put both of mine up to actually stop it from hitting back in my face. My self-defense obviously pisses him off, given that he’s now glaring at me with a clenched jaw and a ‘how dare you’ scowl written across his dark features. Normally, I would be shrinking back, heeding my father’s words of warning to have as little to do with this man as possible, however, something tells me to fight back, and not be silenced. It’s the weirdest sensation, for I’ve never had it before, especially not with a man who is also virtually a stranger.

“Lucius Hastings, ever the charmer I see,” I say politely with a fake, sugary smile. “I’m sure if I had slept with you, I would have remembered it by the visit to the GUM clinic I would have forced myself to attend.” I sigh as I drop my heavy bag to the ground, feeling good about getting a hold of myself and my pride. “Not to mention the abrasive scrubbing I would have needed to remove you from crawling all over my skin.”

Lucius rubs his freshly shaven chin with a contemplative expression before slowly lifting the corners of his mouth into a wicked smile, laughing at me for his own personal enjoyment. I can’t make out what he’s thinking about exactly, but whatever it is, it’s probably vile and enough to make me vomit.

“Well, hell, perhaps you should stick around. I have a few buddies who wouldn’t mind putting that smart mouth to good use.”

There it is, that vomit-inducing mind that’s enough to make me shudder over his vile suggestion.

“Is Merial home?” I ask, sounding completely exasperated by his need to be a complete ass at any given opportunity. Though, if I’m being honest, I can’t help feeling a little excited over my newfound confidence away from my father’s old-fashioned judgment. “I’m her cousin, Helena. We met at your father’s wedding. You groped my brother’s date.”

He looks to the ground and scratches his head as if trying to remember, but I know he recalls pawing at someone else’s date all too well. He’s cocky, just like my brothers, though in a completely disrespectful way.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he says with a grin, “I know who you are.”

Surprised he did remember whoIwas, I drop my mouth open, but can’t think of a single thing to say. Amused by my speechlessness, he takes the opportunity to move in close, with his lips only a mere inch or two away from my cheek.

“I just wanted to see that sexy little blush of yours.” I feel my face screw up at the same time as I gasp over his audacity. “I’m also betting that if you’d have slept withanyguy, you would have written it in a ‘Dear Diary’ moment. But you and I both know that’s never happened. Not. Even. Close.”

He withdraws and begins to chew on a piece of gum, enjoying the angry expression he’s managed to put on my face.

“Hels!” Merial shouts out from the stairwell behind. She’s all smiles and perfect, white teeth coming at me, and with way too much enthusiasm for a post-meeting with her stepbrother. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Laters, virgin!”

Lucius slips away quietly, but not before a quick insult and a lazy wave as he walks back into his grand house. Guess I have a new nickname, as sophisticated and original as it is, I don’t really care at this moment in time. Being a virgin is hardly a cause for a mental breakdown, so why not let him have it.

Merial frowns at me at first, but then rolls her eyes in an irritated fashion when she seems to remember that we’re dealing with her evil stepbrother. Donning a pair of high wedges and a pair of Daisy Dukes, she still bends down to pick up my bag. It’s hardly surprising that she’s exceptionally more polite than Lucius, but it still doesn’t make me judge him any less for it.

Chapter 3

Helena

I won’t lie; I don’t act anywhere near indifferent when I eventually set foot inside the incredible interior of this beautiful house. It’s clean and modern, but also homey at the same time. There are white marble and wooden lines with delicate fabric throws and cushions to soften their hardness. It reflects Lucius and Merial to a tee. Though, with the lifeless pieces, it works incredibly well together, blending all the sharp edges with the smooth, soft ones, and is one delicious feast for the eyes.

---